Saturday, November 10, 2007

BAGHDAD - Former insurgents who turned against al-Qaida in Iraq launched an attack against the terror group and killed 18 of its members, asking the U.S. military to stay away while the battle raged, an ex-insurgent leader and Iraqi police said Saturday.

Most members of the Islamic Army, a major Sunni Arab insurgent group that includes former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, joined U.S. forces battling al-Qaida in Iraq earlier this year, though some of the group's leaders deny any contact with American troops.

A top Islamic Army leader, known as Abu Ibrahim, told The Associated Press that his fighters ambushed al-Qaida members near Samarra on Friday, killing 18 people and seizing 16 prisoners.

An Iraqi police officer in the area corroborated Abu Ibrahim's account. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because of the situation's sensitivity.

The insurgent commander contacted Iraqi police in Samarra and told them his plans to attack al-Qaida, according to the officer and Abu Ibrahim himself.

"We found out that al-Qaida intended to attack us, so we ambushed them at 3 p.m. on Friday," Abu Ibrahim said.

He asked that Iraqi authorities inform the American military about his plans, and requested that no U.S. troops interfere, they said. He worried that U.S. helicopters might mistakenly fire on his fighters, since they had no uniforms and were indistinguishable from the al-Qaida militants, they said.

Friday's clashes raged for nearly four hours about nine miles southeast of Samarra, Abu Ibrahim said. Police said they knew about the battle, but were unable to reach the site because it was too violent. Abu Ibrahim would not say whether Islamic Army members were killed.

The U.S. military had no immediate comment.

The Iraqi officer said the hostages would not be transferred to Iraqi police. Instead, he said he believed the Islamic Army would offer a prisoner swap for some of its members held by al-Qaida.

Many Sunni tribesmen and former insurgents — some of whom once attacked U.S. and Iraqi forces themselves — have turned against al-Qaida, repelled by the terror group's sheer brutality and austere religious extremism. The uprising originated in Iraq's western Anbar province, and has spread to the capital and beyond.

So-called "Awakening councils" have sprouted up in communities across Iraq, where members swear allegiance to Iraq's U.S.-backed government and disavow militants. U.S. officials say the movement, along with a 30,000-strong American troop buildup, has been key in tamping violence in recent months.

At the Abu Hanifa mosque, Baghdad's most revered Sunni shrine, voices blasted from loudspeakers Saturday urging residents to turn against al-Qaida as well: "We are your sons, the sons of the awakening, and we want to end the operations of al-Qaida...We call upon you not to be frightened, and to cooperate with us."

Meanwhile, roadside bombs and shootings killed at least 12 Iraqis early Saturday, police said, and the American military issued a statement saying a U.S. soldier was killed in Diyala province.

The soldier, assigned to Multi-National Division-North, died from injuries suffered in an explosion on Friday, the statement said. Three more soldiers were wounded in the blast, and evacuated to a U.S. combat hospital, it said.

At least 3,861 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an AP count. The figure includes eight civilians working for the military.

Also Saturday, the U.S. military said its troops detained 10 suspects in raids across central and northern Iraq.

The Iraqi death toll included four civilians who died on minibuses hit by roadside bombs on their way to work, police said.

One of the explosions, which missed the passing police patrol that was apparently its target, struck a minibus, killing two people in a predominantly Shiite area of Baghdad, an officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

One of the victims, Qais Hassoun, was riding in a nearby pickup truck. He spoke to AP Television News at a hospital in the Sadr City area, where the victims lay on gurneys in a grimy corridor.

"We are just construction workers, trying to get to our jobs. We were riding in the minibus when the explosion went off," Hassoun said.

al-Qaida intended to attack them so we ambushed them at 3 p.m. on Friday Abu Ibrahim said.

Iraqi police & Army have learned a good lesson from the United States Troops about using a premptive strike to save their own lives, very good lesson.

Monday, November 5, 2007

US Deaths in Iraq Down Nearly 50 Percent Since Last MonthBy Fred Lucas and Kevin Mooney

CNSNews.com Staff Writers

October 31, 2007

(1st Add: Corrects statistics in the story's eighth paragraph.)

(CNSNews.com) - U.S. combat deaths in Iraq for the last month have dropped by more than two-thirds compared with October of last year, while the total death toll has been reduced almost 50 percent since September.

An analysis by Cybercast News Service, based on Pentagon casualty reports, reflects a steady decline in the casualties, which the U.S. military says represents progress in Iraq.

There were 31 casualties in October 2007 (as reported through Oct. 28), of which 25 were combat-related. Last month, through Sept. 28, there were 38 combat-related deaths.

The bulk of deaths are still occurring in Baghdad, which was also true last year, and improvised explosive devices are still the most frequently used weapon by the terrorists. But IED attacks have still declined steadily.

Nonetheless, Maj. Winfield Danielson, a spokesman for the Multi-National Force-Iraq, was cautious in assessing the situation.

"I don't want to be too optimistic and say we turned a corner," Danielson told Cybercast News Service. "But success breeds success. The more havens we are able to find, the more encouraged Iraqi citizens will be to come forward and help us find people."

October reportedly marks the fifth consecutive month of decline in deaths, and the lowest level of casualties since March 2006. As noted, there were 31 American military casualties in Iraq reported by the Department of Defense through Oct. 28 -- 25 of those deaths were combat- related.

In the first 28 days of October 2006, the Pentagon reported 90 U.S. military casualties, 86 of which were combat-related. That's compared to the first 28 days of October 2007, when the Pentagon reported 31 U.S. military casualties, 25 of which were combat-related. That''s a 71 percent drop in combat deaths from October 2006 compared with October 2007.

This October also showed a 48 percent reduction from last month's total deaths, as the first 28 days of September saw 60 casualties, 38 from combat. That''s a 34 percent reduction in combat deaths.

The military credits much of the progress to the surge of 30,000 new troops, led by Gen. David H. Petraeus. However many war critics are quick to note that, despite the military progress, Iraq has been slow to achieve political progress.

"The additional troops we've had here as part of the surge allowed us to go into places since June and basically deny the terrorist organizations safe haven from which to plan their attacks and launch attacks from," Danielson said. "Our soldiers are more present on the ground with the Iraqi people. We found that has given us increased intelligence. They share with us a lot more where caches might be located and where terrorists might be found, and that also has enabled us to find a lot of terrorists that have previously been hidden."

After years of fending off the insurgency, military success was almost inevitable, said James Jay Carafano, defense and national security scholar with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

"Leave the Army there long enough and they will figure out how to get the job done," Carafano told Cybercast News Service. "It's no different than Normandy or the trenches of World War I or any other place."

The change in the U.S. strategy made the difference, Carfano said.

"Three years ago, if you wanted to make money, you would just get yourself a video camera, plant an IED, blow something up, and take the video back to show that you did it and somebody would give you a couple of thousand dollars. Now you go out and plant an IED and what happens is you get your head blown off," Carafano said. "They've pretty much driven the amateurs off the battlefield. The only people left out there are the really bad people."

The tough part isn't over and political stability is still the key, Carafano said, adding this is primarily needed at the local level, such as the Al Anbar province, where Iraqis turned against al Qaeda terrorists.

"Obviously, you need Iraqi security forces that actually can provide security," he said. "You don't necessarily need political stability at the national level. It doesn't really matter that everyone in Baghdad agrees. Like you've seen at Anbar, you need local political leaders to get together to say we don't want these murderers in our area."

The US military prepared on Monday to transfer the security of the central Shiite province of Karbala to Iraqi forces at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

The handover was being held amid tight security in a sports stadium in Karbala, which now becomes the eighth of Iraq's 18 provinces to be transferred to Iraqi control.

Maliki went to Karbala on Sunday evening for the ceremony.

The province, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Baghdad, is relatively peaceful compared to some other central and western regions of Iraq, but is emerging as a flashpoint of Shiite rivalry.

Karbala, home to the shrines of two of Shiite Islam's most revered imams -- Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas -- was the site of a bloody firefight in August during a major religious festival.

At least 52 people were killed in the clashes between Shiite fighters and police as tens of thousands of pilgrims marked the anniversary of a 12th century imam.

On Saturday, Karbala governor Akhil al-Khazali told AFP that his forces were prepared to take over the control of the province from the US military.

The other Iraqi provinces handed over by US-led forces to date are Maysan, Muthanna, Dhi Qar and Najaf in the central and southern regions and the three northern Kurdish provinces of Arbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniyah.

This is being handled the way that it should be.This is going well, the U.S. Military given the proper time to see to it that the Iraqi Forces are able to handle a little bit more each time.Just goes to show that the lunatic left don't know diddly squat never has never will, huhhh the left or otherwise known as the DUMB party.

Getting to watch the Blue Angels practice throughout the week is another perk for patriots living in the vicinity. There’s nothing quite like the beauty of jets flying silently in formation, that sonic boom as they pass overhead, or the thrill of a jet zooming past one’s very window.But for local liberals unaccustomed to such icky displays of militarism and residents annoyed that their daily lives of leisure are interrupted by those who, in reality, make those daily lives of leisure possible, Fleet Week is a time of terror.

I know of one such fellow who was in a virtual panic last weekend to, as he put it, “get out of town before the Blue Angels arrived!” Others remained in the war zone, but their grumbling can be overheard at the corner store, the gym, and anywhere else that San Franciscans choose to emote about their political inclinations.

The truth is San Francisco is a city that likes to pretend its favored existence has nothing to do with the generations of fighting forces that have shed blood, sweat, and tears on America’s behalf. When Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval foolishly stated on “Hannity and Colmes” in 2006 that “the United States should not have a military,” that pretty much said it all…

Who’s on the other side of the street with the tiny contingent of Code Pinkos protesting the war? Look for the union label!

According to FR’s Albion Wilde, at least one of them is a union worker who was told to show up. The Code Pink protest outside Walter Reed is led by one Bruce Wolf, chair of the “Social Justice Committee” of the AFL-CIO-affiliated union O.P.E.I.U. Local 2, who has referred to soldiers as “scabs:”

Mr. Wolf has written numerous wistful letters to lefty sites over the last several years, claiming his demonstration is not political, trying to increase participation — alas, without credibility, nor success. As the DC Chapter’s extensive documentation shows, their numbers have fallen off and stayed lower than the number of Free Republic troop supporters for years now, while DC Chapter’s numbers continue to grow. It’s a really hard sell, even for lefties, to protest the war in the faces of volunteer soldiers who are wounded, and Mr. Wolf is not doing well at it.

This week, in fact, the Reuters news organization ran an article headlined, “U.S. Protests Shrink While Antiwar Sentiment Grows.” Anti-war organizers feud among themselves, reporter Andy Sullivan said, “and participants question the effectiveness of the street protests.” Astonishingly, this mainstream media article at last pointed up the so-called “peace” movement leadership’s ties to the communist Worker’s World Party and its splinter, Party for Socialism and Liberation. What it doesn’t mention is the dedicated counterprotest presence of FReepers, Gathering of Eagles, Protest Warriors, Vets for Victory, MoveAmericaForward and hundreds of other grassroots groups determined not to allow another war to be won on the ground but lost by the media and Congress, as had happened in the Vietnam era.

I am posting your Lead Story on my website(s), with a call to action for the Bay Area supporters of our military men and women who are sacrificing every single day for our country.

I’m going to alert the KSFO audience on Monday when I return to the airwaves and read the deeply moving letter of response from Captain Richard Lund who is a fine example of the caliber of troops we have guarding our backs in this country and in Iraq.

After this disgusting attack at the Marine office in Shattuck Square, Captain Lund issued an open letter to the Berkeley City Council. This quote from your website touched me deeply:

"Recruiters are Traitors.” Please explain this one. How exactly am I a traitor? Was I a traitor when I joined the Marine Corps all those years ago? Is every Marine, therefore, a traitor? Was I a traitor during my two stints in Iraq? Was I a traitor when I was delivering humanitarian aid to the victims of the tsunami in Sumatra? Or do you only consider me a traitor while I am on this job?

Um, Captain Lund, the anti-war lunatics DO consider you a traitor. The rest of the world does not.

I am going to petition the City Council to enforce rules and regulation regarding criminal trespass and vandalism.

I am going to go there myself, personally, to draw attention to this hateful action by a fringe group who has absolutely NO moral authority –whose members include Susan (Medea) Benjamin, who engaged in anarchy at the WTO in Seattle, in between organizing her Code Pink Pepto-Bismol crowd who like to get naked for peace.

I do not hold out much hope from the Berkeley City Council. It is comprised of left-over Hippies from the Sixties who still think it’s the Summer of Love.

However, Mayor Tom Bates, has a distinctly different view of free speech that our military has fought valiantly for –he was convicted of stealing one thousand copies of the a conservative student-run newspaper.

According to the Stanford Daily newspaper…

“Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates has decided to plead guilty for the theft and subsequent disposal of 1,000 copies of the Nov. 4 issue of the Daily Californian, which contained an endorsement of his opponent, Shirley Dean. A month after the incident, Bates is developing legislation to prevent this type of theft from reoccurring.

Regardless of the power structure in Berkeley, we will NOT let this insult to our troops remain unanswered. Not now. Not ever.

Poor Leftists it just seems to be getting worse and worse for you all the time. Bwaahahahahahaha

Friday, October 5, 2007

WATERLOO, Iowa - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says he no longer wears an American flag lapel pin because it has become a substitute for "true patriotism" since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

He commented on the pin in a television interview Wednesday and then again on Thursday at a campaign appearance in Independence, Iowa.

Noting the TV interview, he told the campaign crowd, "I said, you know what, I probably haven't worn a flag pin in a very long time. After a while I noticed people wearing a lapel pin and not acting very patriotic."

"My attitude is that I'm less concerned about what you're wearing on your lapel than what's in your heart. You show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who serve. You show your patriotism by being true to our values and ideals. That's what we have to lead with is our values and our ideals."

Barak Obama is getting things all mixed up feeling versus being patriot is not the same thing. Either your with us or your against us plain and simple.

Well it looks as if the Stalinists Marxist group are back at it again. Just goes to show that the Leftists don't belong here in the United States ship them to Russia or China where they can live in a happy dictatorship that they love so much.

By Michelle Malkin • October 5, 2007 10:03 AM

Update: I noted below that it would be nice if folks could show up and show some support for the targeted recruitment office. Reader Sandy e-mails:

I called the USMC Officer Recruiting Office at Berkeley and expressed my support to one of the recruiters. He asked how I knew about the situation, and I told him your blog was my source. He said the Pinkos vowed they would be back on the weekends and during the week, every week, until the office is shut down. They went to the landlord of the building and have been harassing him, and he may complain to the city/mayor about it, as other building tenants do not appreciate their antics since it interferes with their businesses. The recruiter hoped that more support would come in and that the word would be spread. He said earlier this week, some Gold Star and Blue Star family members came to the office to show support. One of the family members was a father whose Marine son had died in Fallujah. A man with the Pinkos said to him, “How does it feel to have your son die for oil?” Tensions, of course, were very high and there was almost a fight. I know that I could not hold my temper (and tongue) as these Marines are doing. I despise what these harridans are doing. Question their patriotism? There’s no question about their patriotism.

This is just gone too far and if the Left ever thinks about ever getting into office they better control these leftist lunatics of their party.